Hair cutter



y 1956 A. N. SPANEL 2,746,144

HAIR CUTTER Filed March 25, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l L 5 m ll lbl ilf'v INVENTOR. ABRAHAM NATHAN/EL 5R4 NEL.

May 22, 1956 A. N. SPANEL 2,746,144

HAIR CUTTER Filed March 2a, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 86 INVENTOR.

W 1455A HAM IVATHA N/EL SPA NEL.

I "1101,1111 IIIII'",--

8o 82 W ATTORNEK United States Patent HAIR CUTTER Abraham Nathaniel Spanel, Princeton, N. J., assignor to Cutter Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application March 23, 1953, Serial No. 344,157

8 Claims. (Cl. 3031) My invention relates to hair cutters and more particularly to hair cutters having a comb body wherein the blade is positioned adjustably with respect to the hair.

As was found in my now abandoned application Serial No. 106,398, filed July 23, 1949, a blade edge enclosed within a cage is at all times prevented from accidental contact with the skin. Should it be desired to open the cage to permit the blade to advance beyond the ends of the comb teeth, then the open side of the cage represents a hazard for the careless user of the hair cutter.

Accordingly, one of the objects of my invention is to provide a hair cutter having open comb teeth to permit the blade edge to advance to or beyond the outer extremities of the teeth, and at the same time provide the blade edge with a guard which will protect the careless user in all positions of the movable blade. Further objects are to provide such a guard which will not interfere with the movement of hair through the hair cutter, and which may be easily made of inexpensive materials, and quickly secured to an existing hair cutter.

Still other objects are to provide a hair cutter body made of molded material, and having molded passageways to facilitate passage of the hair; to provide a wheel type of driving means with exposed portions of the rim to facilitate movement of the blade; and to provide a novel spacing of the comb and guard teethto permit close shaving in a safe position.

These and other objects are accomplished and my new results obtained as will be apparent from the devices described in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a plan view of my hair cutter;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view through 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinally sectioned view through 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a sheet metal guard;

Fig. 5 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a wire embodiment;

Fig. 7 is an end View thereof;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a sheet metal embodiment;

Fig. 9 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 10 is a partial cross-sectioned view, illustrating a guard in advanced position;

Fig. 11 is a partial cross-sectioned view illustrating a protected end for the metal comb teeth;

Fig. 12 is a partial cross-sectioned view illustrating a guard in advanced position and a comb having the inner surface of the teeth formed in a plane parallel to the portion of the blade.

In the drawing reference numeral 10 designates my hair cutter comprising a comb body 12, extending handle 14, and blade position fixing means which includes the blade adjusting dial or wheel 16, the blade supporting plate 18, the blade clamp 20, the blade 22, and associated parts hereinafter described.

A two edged hair cutter for using either of the edges of a double edged blade is illustrated of the open cage 2,746,144 Patented May 22, .1956

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type, but it will be understood that a single edge hair cutter may be provided, as shown in my application Serial No. 233,775, filed June 27, 1951, now Patent No. 2,731,- 717, granted January 24, 1956, which exposes only a single edge, or which uses a single edge blade.

In the particular construction illustrated, the body may be made of plastic, such as nylon, which is exceptionally strong, and capable of being molded'into the intricate comb shape with various recesses, as hereinafter de scribed. Other plastics may also be used; or the device made of metal if desired.

The blade is preferably supported on the comb body having a hollow compartment 24, which is determined by the angle which the teeth form with the side 25 of the positioned blade. Hair of sufficient length may be combed into position between the individual teeth 26 and into the hollow compartment until it engages the'edge 28 of the blade which is selectively positioned by the dial. The positioning of the blade-is provided for by blade position fixing means in the following manner: The blade supporting plate operates in guideways 30 and 32 formed in the comb body adjacent each end of the blade supporting plate. Positioned along one end of the blade supporting plate, and operating in the guideway 32 is a rack 34, operable by the pinion edge 35 of the dial 16 supported on shaft 36. The underside of the dial may be radially notched as at 37 to engage spring 38 mounted to the comb body to prevent unintended motion of the blade. The handle is recessed as at 39 to accommodate the dial and permit engagement with the rack of the blade supporting plate. -A' cover plate 40 secured to the handle by pins 41 completes the assembly. I

Thus the dial may eifect a relative transverse movement between the edge of the blade and the ends of .the teeth throughout the cutting edge zone,namely from a portion wherein the cutting edge is. inv close proximity to the outermost edge of the teeth to one wherein the cuttingedge is spaced its maximum distance from the scalp, and from the inner surface'of the teeth, as shown in Fig. 2.

The hollow clamp 20 contains a plate 21 made of springy metal provided with key slots 42 which engage the respective necks 44 of the headed posts 46 mounted to the blade supporting plate 18. An external finger piece 48 extends through the hollow clamp 20 and is secured to the plate 21, as by riveted post 49 which enables the plate to be moved in the hollow clamp until the headed pins are freed in the key slots. Thus the clamp may be lifted for changing the blade positioned on the blade supporting plate underneath.

The comb body 12 supports the extending teeth by means of the spine or frame 50 which is undercutbetween comb teeth.26 in the form of groovesproviding passageways 52, to prevent the tendency of the frame to flatten the hair against the scalp, for example, and thus interfere with the most efiicient operation of the device. The passageways'also permit some of the cut hair to pass therethrough out of the cage. 7

It will be readily seen that the blade in the open type of haircutter employing the hollow compartment, exposes its edge throughout its length. *As the edge of the blade is propelled towards the ends of the teeth through the cutting zone for the close cut, the danger of accidental injury is somewhatlessened. To protect the user from the exposed edge of the blade in the open compartment, a guard is provided which travels with the blade.

In Figs. 1, 2, and 3, I have illustrated the hollow clamp 20 provided with slots 53 along the edge of the blade forming projections 54 which act as an obstacle towards accidental contact of the fingers or skin with the edge oftheblade.-

In Figs. 4 and 5, I have illustrated a combined clamping plate and guard 56 made of a stamped sheet metal and, if desired, a relatively hollow section 58 which may provide a springy clamping action, with key slots 60 to receive the headed clamping posts. The two longitudinal edges are slit as at 62 to permit upraised sheet metal ears 64 forming an obstacle against accidental contact with the skin, while allowing the cutting edge on both sides of the bladev to be engaged by the hair. The ears may have their outer extremities curved as at 65 to provide a supporting surface for the skin when the guard is in shaving position. The finger piece 66 facilitates manipulation of the guard.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I have illustrated a wire embodiment of my clamping plate 56a made of a sheet metal and if desired a relatively hollow section 58a, and key slots 60a. A sheet metal cap: 5911 contains wire guard elements 64a which may be rounded at the ends thereof and extend over the blade forming a guard even with the edges of the said blade.

In Figs. 8 and 9, I have illustrated a combined sheet metal clamping plate 56b in which extending fingers 64b extend from each side thereof which may curl upward, as illustrated, or curve downward towards the razor edge.

I have found that the obstacle to accidental contact with the edge of the blade is greater as the guard approaches the edge of the blade. For maximum protection, I have found the guard should project over the edge of the blade, as appears from the sectional view illustrated in Fig. 10.

A safety position for shaving occurs in a hair cutter with suitably spaced apart teeth and with the guard in its advanced position, when the edge 68 of the blade presses the skin in the plane of use determined by the teeth 70 and guard 72, as is illustrated in Fig. 10.

When a comb having suitably spaced-apart teeth is pressed against the skin having hair thereon, the skin is depressed by adjacent teeth causing the skin surface to be raised therebetween. I have utilized this phenomenon to enable the blade edge to engage the raised skin in a shaving position, in the closed type of hair cutter, i. e. one in which the cage encircles the edge of the blade, as is described and illustrated in my application Ser. No. 106,398. In this application, I first illustrated and described a suitable position for close cutting in a cage with tines spaced /s inch apart and having a thickness of from .015" to'.030". Increasing the spacing between the tines decreases the safety factor; and increasing the thickness of the times, makes it more difiicult for the blade edge to reach the shaving position. A proper balance between the spacing and wire thickness is here preferred.

I thus avoid the necessity for advancing the blade edge to an unsafe and exposed position beyond the edge of the teeth.

In the model provided with a movable guard, the teeth of the guard are preferably similarly spaced to insure this new and safe shaving position wherein the blade edge may be maintained in the plane of use between the outermost surfaces of the guard and the comb teeth, as is shown in Fig. 10. In such case the skin is depressed under the teeth of the comb and/ or guard and thereby raised in between the teeth to reach the safe shaving position of the blade edge.

It is obvious that several strokes of the hair cutter may be desired in the shaving area to insure that all the hair intended for removal has been shaved.

In Fig. 11, I have illustrated a sectional view of the sheet metal frame 74 with integral extending teeth 76, the sharpness of the ends of the teeth being checked by merely coining or balling the points, as at 78.

In Fig. 12, a comb 80 having extending teeth 82 the inner surface of which extends parallel to the blade 84, is shown in shaving position, and with a guard .86 which functions substantially as do the guards heretofore described.

In order to insure that the blade edge can be quickly moved to the shaving position, the hair cutter may be provided with a stop. Such a stop may be molded in the hair cutter guideway, as for instance the stop 88 in Fig. 1.

In the foregoing, I have among other devices described a hair cutter having an exposed blade for close shaving which at all times is furnished with a guard acting as an obstacle to accidental contact with the edge of the blade, The guard is provided with teeth to permit the hair to reach the edge of the blade throughout its various positions. The ends of the guard teeth may be spaced from the edge of the blade to avoid accumulating the cut hair. The proper spacing of the teeth of the hair cutter permits the blade edge to be advanced with the guard to the safety position for close shaving. The hair cutter is at all times protected from damage to the blade edge and the blade edge guarded against accidental contact therewith. The guards may be molded, stamped or made of wire or combinations thereof.

My novel hair cutter employing the wheel drive positioned parallel to the plane of the blade is flatter and easier to operate than other types. The thumb and forefinger or either of them, on the same hand, are in a natural position for easily operating the wheel.

I have thus described my invention, but I desire it understood that it is not confined to the particular forms or uses shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, therefore, I claim broadly the right to employ all equivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appended claims, and by means of which objects of my invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

I claim:

1. A hair cutter comprising a blade position fixing means adapted to position a cutting blade with an edge in a selected cutting position, and a comb body, said position fixing means and comb body being operatively interconnected, said comb body comprising a frame from which a plurality of spaced apart teeth project, the outer surfaces of which form a plane for supporting the cutter on the hair in proper position for cutting in substantially all cutting positions of the blade, the outermost portions of the teeth forming the front of the comb body, said comb body and blade position fixing means being relatively adjustable to effect relative transverse movement between a positioned blade and the comb body, means for retaining the comb body and positioned blade in any one of a plurality of selected transverse cutting positions, one position wherein the cutting edge is in close proximity to the outermost portions of the teeth, and another position wherein the cutting edge is spaced apart a substantial distance from both the outer surfaces of the teeth and transversely from the outermost portions of the teeth, said blade position fixing means and comb body being constructed and arranged so as to maintain the cutting edge of the blade and the front of the teeth in continuous parallel position with each other throughout the relative transverse movement between the comb body and blade position fixing means, and a guard mounted over the side of the blade on said blade position fixing means, and afiixed thereto, forming an obstacle against accidental contact with the edge of the blade in any of its transverse positions.

2. The hair cutter of claim 1, wherein the guard is provided with teeth forming passageways between teeth for the hair.

7 3.. The hair cutter of claim 1, wherein the guard is made of sheet material stamped to form ears which extend away from the positioned blade.

4. The hair cutter of claim 1, wherein the guard projects beyond the edge of the blade the outermost portions of which guard are in the plane of use determined by the teeth, and edge of the blade.

5. A hair cutter provided with a comb body having a handle, extending teeth, a blade positioning means for positioning a cutting blade in a selected cutting zone, and a circular Wheel positioned inside the comb body and in a plane parallel to the positioned blade, and the handle, with edge portions exposed between the comb body and for engagement with the fingers, said circular wheel having a drive for engaging the blade positioning means for moving the blade to a selected position.

6. A hair cutter provided with a comb body having extending teeth forming a plane of support for the hair cutter when positioned on the scalp, a bladepositioningfixing means for positioning a cutting blade in a selected cutting zone at an angle to said plane of supporting teeth, said teeth being spaced apart a distance about Ms inch, and having a tooth thickness at the ends thereof between .015" to .030" to permit the skin to be pressed into the space between the teeth and into the cutting zone, and means for advancing the blade in the plane of the positioned blade to the proximity of the edge of the teeth for shaving.

7. A hair cutter provided with a comb body having extending teeth, a blade-positioning-fixing means for positioning a cutting blade in a selected cutting zone at an angle to said teeth, said teeth being spaced apart to permit the skin to be pressed into the space between the teeth and into the cutting zone, means for advancing the blade in the plane of the positioned blade to the proximity of the edge of the teeth for shaving, and a guard for said blade and movable therewith, and provided with teeth, said guard teeth being spaced apart to permit the skin to be pressed into the space between the teeth of the guard and into the cutting zone, the outermost portions of the guard teeth when advanced to the position for shaving being positioned in the plane of use determined by the comb teeth, and the edge of the blade.

8. A hair cutter provided with a comb body comprising a frame and extending teeth, a blade position fixing means for holding a cutting blade in a selected cutting zone, said comb body being made of molded material, the space between teeth being continued in the form of grooves through the outside of the frame to provide passageways for the hair, the ends of the teeth being elevated above the frame of the body to form a hollow compartment wherein is contained the means for holding the blade, and means for advancing the blade in the plane of the positioned blade over the hollow compart' ment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 387,359 Kampfe et al. Aug. 7, 1888 1,074,678 Williamson Oct. 7, 1913 1,175,023 Szabo Mar. 14, 1916 1,288,522 Cowan Dec. 24, 1918 1,338,507 James Apr. 27, 1920 1,477,689 Burns Dec. 18, 1923 1,511,220 Isman Oct. 14, 1924 1,860,643 Andis May 31, 1932 1,954,628 Johnson Apr. 10, 1934 2,165,391 Lewis July 11, 1939 2,188,131 Bois Jan. 23, 1940 2,237,676 Lewis Apr. 8, 1941 2,367,571 Gaide Ian. 16, 1945 2,569,344 Shaefier Sept. 25, 1951 2,576,618 Mansfield Nov. 27, 1951 2,589,230 Davis et a1 Mar. 18, 1952 2,597,653 Mansfield May 20, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 349,577 Germany Mar. 4, 1922 554,634 France Mar. 5, 1923 

